


I've Got A Home (For You and Me)

by legojacques (InterruptingDinosaur)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen, Kit POV, a cute puppy - Freeform, a story about a patient cat, and kit has to learn to live with a new little brother, and the nuisance that has come to her house in the form of a puppy, background kent/jeff, except kit has a soft spot for junior, junior is a good boy, kent gets a new puppy!, think garfield with nermal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 04:06:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13240074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterruptingDinosaur/pseuds/legojacques
Summary: Kent brings home a dog, much to Kit's displeasure.(Or, how Kit learns to be a big sister, finds that she's got a protective streak, and learns to live with, of all things, a puppy.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A series of scenes from Kit and Junior's daily lives. Ficlets reposted from tumblr.

“Is he coming back?” Junior asked for the third time from where he was sitting alert in front of the door.

Kit resisted the urge to hiss in frustration from the top of the cat tree, but she was supposed to be nice to the kid, so she settled for highly annoyed instead. “Yes, he’ll be back tonight.”

Junior looked over his shoulder with mournfully large, puppy eyes that had been suckering Kent into giving extra treats the past week. “Really? It’s just that–” He glanced back the closed door. “They don’t always come back.”

Kit really wanted to hate the kid, but she couldn’t when he was such a pathetic puddle of fur right now. “Come sit with me,” she ordered.

After a last glance a the door, Junior awkwardly climbed up the branches and settled in beside Kit. She started grooming the one side of his head and he let her without complaining. “Kent will be back,” she reassured him between mouthfuls of fur. “He always comes back.”

“What if he doesn’t?”

The kid had anxiety bad. It had been obvious from the first day Kent had come home with a new puppy that he hadn’t even asked her about. She had been mad at him, but it wasn’t long before it was clear that something was off with Junior.

From the disjointed phone conversations, Kit pieced together part of Junior’s past. Junior had been taken away from his mother far too young, and then later, neglected by his new family when they had moved away without him. Apparently, animal services had found Junior living in the front garden, waiting for his family to come back.

It was hardly surprising that Junior had since developed abandonment issues.  Every time Kent so much as stepped foot through the front door, Junior was awash with anxiety that he was never coming back.

Kit felt bad for the kid– she really did– but her patience could only stretch so far. Luckily, Junior was distracted by several of the new toys that Kent had set out for him, and when he’d tired himself out, fell asleep in a sunny patch until Kent got home.

The jingle of keys on the other side alerted Kit and she was up on her feet and headed towards the door. Kent had had several grocery bags in both hands, but he put them down to give Kit a quick, perfunctory rub on the head. “Hey, Princess,” he said before picking heading to the kitchen.

They could both hear Junior long before they could see him. His enthusiastic barks carried down the hall as he dashed out to greet Kent. He weaved figure-eights between Kent’s legs while continuing his raucous woofs.

“Let him put away the food first,” she chided.

“He’s back,” Junior said, completely ignoring her. “Kent came back.” If Kit could roll her eyes in disgust and embarrassment, she would have. Honestly, _dogs_.

Kent completely forgot about the bags on the counter as he sat down to cuddle Junior back with equal energy. “Aw, I missed you too, Junior.” Then, he quickly added, “And you too, Kit.” She preened for a moment, pleased that Kent hadn’t forgotten her.

Later, after Kent had taken Junior for a walk and they’d all eaten, Junior wandered over to where Kit was perched beside a sleeping Kent on the couch. He jumped up and dropped a half-eaten bone-shaped treat beside Kit and nosed it over to her.

“Eugh, don’t leave food on the couch,” Kit said, cringing at the slobber.

“It’s for you,” Junior offered shyly.

“Why?” she asked baffled. The treats were Junior’s favorite and he gobbled them up every chance he got.

“I like you. You’re nice.”

Kit stared at the kid for a moment before answering. “I hissed at you this morning.”

Junior shook his head, his ears swaying with the motion. “I’m always scared, but you make me feel not so scared.”

Kit was taken aback, but then quietly sighed, “Come here, kid.”

Junior curled around her and she began to groom him. Behind her, Kent snored lightly while the low noise of the television was a quiet hum that eventually lulled them all to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

There was an intruder in the house.

Or, at least, that was what Junior told Kit one night when he came barrelling down the stairs like his tail was on fire. He crushed Kit in an effort to get close to her, not realizing how heavy he was, before she’d hissed and pushed him off.

“Stop, slow down, kid. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

Junior’s face was shoved into the cushion, his whine still too muffled to really make sense of what he was saying. He was shaking, which meant something had really spooked him. Kit licked a spot on his head until he calmed down enough to look up at her.

“There’s a monster upstairs,” he whimpered.

Kit’s first instinct was to snort and swat the kid (gently). “Kent wouldn’t let a monster into the house.”

“No, I saw it!” Junior insisted. “I saw it! Upstairs! I tried to chase it away but then it ran towards me!”

Kit eyed Junior skeptically before glancing at the staircase. She stood up, intending to investigate this so-called monster, but Junior lost his mind when she tried to step off of the dog bed. “I’m just going to go see.”

“No!” he whined. “Don’t go! It’ll eat you!”

Kit’s resolve faltered, and she curled up next to the kid again, trying to soothe him. The front hall was illuminated by the nightlight Kent had plugged in, but the rest of the house was dark. The pet sitter had stopped by and left hours ago and Kent wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. If there really was something upstairs, they would be alone. Kit shivered and curled closer to Junior. In the morning, she decided. In the morning she would go see this monster.

In the daylight, the house seemed much less scary with the sunlight streaming through the windows, creating perfect napping spots that Kit would have to come back later. After using the litter box, Kit sat the bottom of the stairs for a while before finally taking a deep breath and ascending them. She didn’t believe in monsters, she told herself, as she slowly climbed up each step.

A whimper behind her had her pausing at looking back. Junior was on the stairs, but he was still too scared to do anything except follow her. They made it onto the landing on the second floor, and so far, everything was still.

“Where was this monster?” Kit asked.

“In that room.” Junior indicated.

Cautiously, they edged towards it and Kit sidled past the door which had been left ajar the night before. Nothing was out of the ordinary: a bed, dresser, and chair were all in their usual spots. “There’s nothing here,” she called back to Junior.

Junior crept into the room, but then yelped and ran back out again.

“What? What was it?” Kit asked running after him. Junior was hiding in a corner by the bathroom.

“There’s two monsters now!”

“I didn’t see anything.”

Junior continued to whimper and Kit stalked back into the guest room. There was still nothing monster-like in the room, but as she prowled around, sniffing, the new, floor mirror Kent had bought last week caught her eye. She walked up to it to study it quizzically before she finally rolled her eyes.

“Kid, it’s a just mirror!” she called.

It took some coaxing, but Kit finally got Junior back into the guest room where he learned what a mirror was for the first time. Kit watched from the bed while Junior amused himself by taking several steps back, running towards the mirror, and then licking his reflection . Kent was going to have to clean the slobber off  when he got home, but at least there weren’t anymore monsters.

Honestly, _dogs._


	3. Chapter 3

Junior’s new favourite hobby was asking too many questions to annoy Kit.

It annoyed Kit even more when the kid was never satisfied the answer, and each terse reply would only lead him to ask more question. Of course, there was no escaping it. As soon as Kit got up to stalk out of the room, Junior would follow behind with his never-ending stream of monologue.

Most of the time, they weren’t even important questions, just inane chatter.

“Where does Kent go when he leaves?”

“How can you climb up on that shelf so quick?”

“Why can’t I drink from the shiny, white bowl that refills with water when you pull the lever?”

Yet, for all his innocent curiosity and naivete, Junior was surprisingly good at solving murder mysteries.

“The judge did it,” Junior declared confidently one night.

“The judge is dead,” Kit replied from where she was comfortably curled up on Kent’s chest. “How can he keep murdering people if he’s dead?”

“The judge did it,” Junior repeated again without taking his eyes off the screen.

As it turned out, he was right. Kit wrote it off as a lucky guess, but then, annoyingly, Junior kept being right about the murderer every time.

“Stop spoiling the ending,” Kit complained. “I don’t want to know did it yet.”

Junior at least had the decency to look apologetic. “I won’t say anything,” he promised.

It would have worked except that Junior’s excitable body language kept giving it away. True to his word, he didn’t tell Kit who the criminal was, but his tail would thump or he’d bare his teeth when the character reappeared on screen. It wasn’t hard to figure out.

“I’ve had enough,” Kit finally said one night as she hopped down from the couch. “Cop shows are no fun anymore.”

She was napping on Kent’s pillow when Junior came to find her later. He nudged her, and when she ignored him, he half flopped down on her anyways. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Kit scratched an ear and yawned. She wasn’t as irritated as before so she didn’t squirm away from him. “Ehhh, it’s not your fault.”

Junior was quiet for a while, his chin resting on the top of Kit’s head. “Kit?”

“Mhmm?” she answered sleepily, ready for another question.

Instead, he whispered, “I’m glad you’re here.”

Kit’s only response was to snuggle closer.


	4. Chapter 4

“Who is that? Who is that!?” Junior barked. He was up on his hind legs as he pressed his face against the front window which looked out on Kent’s drive way. “Who is that?”

“Who?” Kit said lazily without bothering to crack an eyelid from where she was sprawled.

“Him! That guy!” Junior pawed frantically at the glass. “He’s with Kent. Who is he?”

“Are you really going to bark at everyone that comes to the house?”

Junior didn’t reply, and instead, scrambled down from the back of the couch and dashed towards the door just as Kent unlocked it. “Hey, buddy,” came Kent’s voice from the front hall mixed with Junior’s excited yips.

“I cannot believe you actually got a dog, Parser.” Kit frowned as she recognized that voice.

“What? You really didn’t believe me when I said I adopted a puppy?”

“Honestly, you’re weird enough that I half expected to find your cat dressed up in a dog costume.”

Kent’s snort was audible. “Give me some credit here, Swoops.”

“I am giving you credit.”

The voices faded as they drifted into the kitchen with Junior presumably following them. Kit rolled over onto her feet, debating whether she wanted to hide under Kent’s bed or in the unfolded pile of laundry currently in Kent’s closet.

Unfortunately, she took too long to decide, and Kent and Swoops came into the living room, each holding drink, before she could escape. Junior trailed after them adoringly. Kent, at least, stopped to scratch Kit’s head. She had quickly darted up the cat tree and was currently glaring at them from the top tier.

“So, let me guess, the dog’s named after you too?” Swoops said as leaned down to rub Junior’s ears.

“No,” Kent scoffed unconvincingly. “What would make you think that?”

“Your cat,” Swoops said dryly, “is named Kit Purrson.”

“His name is Junior,” Kent responded in mock outrage.

Swoops narrowed his eyes at Kent. “Kent Parson Junior?”

It turned into a staring contest between them, but it was Kent who broke first. “Yes,” he reluctantly admitted. When Swoops started laughing, Kent threw a cushion at him. “Fuck off,” he grumbled.

Junior had managed to scramble onto the couch with them. He had his front paws on Swoops’ thigh as he gazed lovingly up at him. His tail was an excited blur, not even caring that he was whacking Kent’s arm each time he wagged it back and forth.

“At least your dog is friendly.”

“Kit’s friendly too,” Kent said, coming to Kit’s defense. He had been randomly flipping through the channels before landing on a rerun episode of a home improvement show with the host that Kit knew Kent had a crush on.

“Dude, your cat hates me,” Swoops said

“She hates you the least,” Kent reassured.

He was right though. If had been anyone else, Kit wouldn’t even be in the room. Swoops was the most tolerable of Kent’s raucous team mates. At least, he’d never drunkenly tried to roughhouse with her like a dog.

Their conversation drifted to other topics, and soon, Kit got bored and fell asleep. When she woke again, the living room was quiet. Yawning, she hopped down and padded quietly over the couch where Kent and Swoops were sprawled out on the sectional.

She had every intention of pawing her human’s face so he could get up and dish out her dinner, but stopped short when Junior perked up when she got closer. He was nestled next to a lightly snoring Kent, but made no move to leave the warm space.

“They’re asleep,” he whispered loudly, as if it wasn’t already obvious.

Kit snorted. “I can see that.”

Junior glanced over Swoops who was ungracefully drooling into a cushion. “I think Kent likes Swoops,” he said conspiratorially, as if it was some big revelation.

Kit rolled her eyes, and had to remind herself Junior hadn’t been around the last two years to suffer through Kent’s unsubtle, long glances and the unconscious smiles that lingered whenever Swoops came around.

Both Junior and Kit were quiet as they took in Kent’s soft expression. “I want him to be happy,” Junior finally said.

“Me too,” Kit sighed.


	5. Chapter 5

The space under Kent’s bed was usually Kit’s safe place, the spot where she would hide when Kent brought his annoying friends over and the one place she could count on hiding when Kent wanted to take her to the vet. However, now, it seemed her sacred temple had been invaded… by a dog, no less.

“Quit moving,” Kit hissed as she kicked him with a hind leg.

Junior didn’t reply from where he was flattened with his belly on the floor. His eyes were squeezed shut and even in the low light, Kit could see his body shaking. Outside, another boom sounded as another firework went off, and he whimpered again.

“It’s not going to hurt you. It’s just noise,” Kit said, parroting words Kent had said to her the first year he had her when she had, as a small kitten, burrowed into his arms in confused fear. Unfortunately, Kent was not home this year, having gone out with some friends for his birthday, and as usual, the job of babysitting fell to Kit again.

“Kit, I’m scared,” Junior sobbed, and Kit’s heart softened a little. She scooted closer to the kid and curled around his small frame.

“Shhhh,” she said in what she hoped was a soothing manner. “It’ll be over soon.”

“I’m scared,” he repeated.

“I’m right here,” she promised. “I’ll keep you safe.”

It continued on like that for a long while, Junior flinching each time a deafening explosion went off, and Kit alternating between patting him and rubbing her cheek all over the top of his head. Eventually, it did stop, and they both fell asleep in an exhausted pile.


	6. Chapter 6

“I’m telling you, it’s perfect!” Kit followed Kent from the kitchen, and when he paused to listen to whoever was talking on the other end of his phone, she meowed at him for attention. He flopped down on his couch and bent down to scoop her one-handed onto his lap. Scratching behind her ears, he continued his conversation. “It looks just like the one we broke when we were kids. Mom’s going to love it!”

Kit hadn’t noticed it at first, but now a small, glass figurine that was sitting on top of Kent’s coffee table, surrounded by crumpled newspaper caught her eye. After a moment, she realized it was supposed to be a faceless woman holding a baby. Silently, Kit scoffed; it would be better if it was a small statue of a cat.

She closed her eyes, letting Kent’s voice blend in with the rest of the background sounds, slowly soothing her to sleep. However, the sudden intrusion of a wet nose and dog breath in her face pulled her back to reality. Junior had his worn, tennis ball in his mouth, but he dropped it on the floor. “Can I snuggle too?” Junior asked excitedly, his tail wagging furiously behind him.

“No,” Kit said plaintively, pushing his panting face away from her, but Junior was already clambering onto Kent.

“Hang on, Katie, Junior’s trying to climb on me too.” Kent paused to rearrange everyone, which meant that Kit was pushed off so that she was only half on Kent’s lap now while Junior got the other half.

Kit glared at Junior, but he didn’t seem to notice. “Do you think Kent will want to play later?”

“No,” Kit said, still grumpy from being interrupted from her nap.

The doorbell chimed, and Kent had to push both of them off to answer the door. Junior hopped off the couch, picked up the ball in his mouth, and jumped back onto the warm spot that Kent had vacated seconds earlier. Dropping it on the couch, he asked, “Do you want to play?”

“No.”

“Come on, Kit! Please? Play with me?” Junior pleaded. He crouched down on his front paws while his tail continued to wag.

“No.”

“Kit! Please?” he whined.

“Fine,” Kit grumbled because the phrase “giving up” was not in the kid’s dictionary. She swatted dirty ball so that it rolled across the living room. “Go away now.”

Junior took off, racing across the floor noisily. He was back ten seconds later, dropping the slobber-covered in front of Kit. Irritated, she smacked it further this time, but it didn’t deter Junior as he bolted after it again. Kit watched him come back, but it wasn’t until it was too late that she realized that he was running too fast on the hardwood to stop in time.

“Junior, no!”

Junior tried to stop, but he skidded and crashed clumsily into the coffee table with a surprised yip. The delicate figurine that Kent had bought for his mother toppled over the edge to its demise where it broke into fractured pieces. They were both frozen for a panicked moment until Kit finally regained her wits.

“Well, that wasn’t well made at all,” she declared.

“What the fuck!?” Kent exclaimed when he came back into the room. He pulled at his hair as he took in the scene. “Fuck! Mom’s birthday is in three days!” He came around the couch and picked up Junior. “Bad puppy,” he said angrily. Junior flattened his ears and whimpered.

After he checked to make sure Junior didn’t have glass stuck in his paws, Kent took him into the garage. Kit could hear his sad howls from inside the house and she felt bad for the kid until Kent came back and picked her up. “Hey, I didn’t do anything!” she protested, but he didn’t respond, and she ended up in the garage too.

Junior kept up his sad whimpers and howls for a little while longer, but he seemed to wear himself out. Kit watched from the top of the shoe rack as Junior curled up on the scrap of carpet that was by the door. She was miffed that she had gotten dragged into this mess when it wasn’t even her fault.

However, when Junior start to shake and snuffle wetly, she hopped down and made her way over to him. Kit paused, unsure what to do. She put a paw on him. “Kent will get over it. We’ll be back in the house before dinner time,” she reassured, but it only seemed to make the kid cry harder. She curled up around Junior and licked at an ear.

“I–I don’t want to go back,” he sobbed brokenly.

“What? The house?”

“N-no. The shelter!”

Oh. _Oh!_ “Don’t be silly,” she said. “Kent’s not going to take you back to the shelter.”

Junior was silent and Kit thought she’d succeeded in convincing the kid, but then he quietly confessed, “I’ve been taken back before.”

Kit stilled her grooming. “By Kent?” she asked, baffled.

“No, before,” he squeaked. “I– I needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and I didn’t make it in time.”

“So, you peed in the house?”

“On the new carpet!” Junior admitted shamefully. “They took me back the next day and said I wasn’t what they were looking for.”

“Okay, listen,” Kit said forcefully as she sat up. “Kent is not going to take you back to the shelter because you accidentally broke something or pee on the carpet. Trust me. I’ve broken lots of stuff and he’s still kept me around.”

“Really?” Junior asked.

“I’ve pushed his mug off the table because I wanted to see what would happen.”

“What happened?”

“It broke.” She shook her head. “But that’s not the point. You’re part of the family now, and Kent’s not going to get rid of you. You belong here.” Kit could have kept going (it was her best speech yet), but then the door opened and Kent came into the garage.

“Hey buddy, hey princess” Kent said as he pulled Junior and Kit into his lap. “Sorry I yelled. I was a little mad.” He kissed the top of Junior’s fluffy head, and Junior gave him a big lick in return, all previous transgressions forgotten. “Let’s go back in,” he said.

Later, just as Kit was falling asleep, she heard the jingle of Junior’s tags coming up behind her. She braced herself to be rudely awoken again, but instead, he flopped down beside her. “I’ve always wanted a family,” he whispered reverently before laying his head down so that she was tucked under her chin. “A family,” he muttered again before Kit drifted off.


	7. Chapter 7

“It’s called a date,” Kit explained, seeing the confused expression on Junior’s face. He was camped out by the doorway, hoping Kent would rub his belly again.

“What does that mean?”

“It usually means there’s someone he wants to impress,” Kit said, nodding his head towards where Kent was shaving through the open door of the ensuite bathroom.

“Who?” Junior asked predictably.

Kit shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“It looks like he’s just getting ready for a game,” Junior said as he watched Kent.

“Kent doesn’t wear cologne during pregame,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “And he hardly wears this shirt either,” she said as she flounced across the sheets to roll on the blue shirt that had been neatly laid on the bed. “Oooh, it’s so soft!”

She got in a couple of rolls before Kent came out of the bathroom to shoo her off of his shirt. “Kit!” He groaned at the cat hairs all over it. “I don’t have time for this.” He threw the shirt in the laundry basket and went back in his closet. Kit followed him and watched him as he went through the rainbow of shirts on his hangers. He pulled one out to consider, but she nipped him gently. “Hey,” he warned, shaking his leg.

“Don’t wear that one,” Kit said. He wisely put it back, and after several minutes, he finally settled on a dove grey shirt that Kit approved of.

“Tie or no tie?” Kent asked, holding two different ones up to his neck in the full-length mirror. “Is it too much?”

“No tie,” Kit meowed

“Tie!” Junior barked at the same time.

Kent decided to forgo the tie in the end.

“Ha! I win,” Kit crowed in victory. She smiled smugly at Junior who seemed like he couldn’t really care less, but Junior had grown to be bigger than Kit these days, and she had to get find other ways to reassert her dominance as top cat.

Kent, oblivious to their antics, suddenly swore and took off running down the hall and the stairs with his pets racing after him.

Kit and Junior dashed in the kitchen  just as Kent was opening the oven. He took out the salmon that Kit had drooled over earlier. “Shit,” Kent muttered as he half-threw the hot pan on a spread towel. “Shit,” he repeated again, which was never a good sign. Junior, ever the empathetic one, rubbed his head against Kent’s calf and barked softly at him.

“What’s wrong?” Junior asked when Kent had given him a quick pat. “What happened? Why is he sad now?”

“He overcooked the salmon,” Kit replied, washing a paw calmly.

“Does that mean he won’t have any food? What if I share mine?”

Kit rolled her eyes and didn’t even bother to reply. Apparently, according to Junior’s logic, if Kent shares his food with him, then Junior should be able to share his food with Kent. Junior still hadn’t learned the dogs were the only ones who seemed to enjoy dog food.

Kent was already on the phone, by the sink, and this was Kit’s chance to jump on the stool before hopping on the island counter. “Hey, yeah, hi, could I order two of your salmon steaks with the works, potatoes, beans, and a throw in a salad too,” Kent said distractedly, but unfortunately, not distracted enough. He snaked an arm around Kit’s middle and grabbed her before she could reach her delicious prize.

“Just a little bite,” she protested, kicking her hind legs uselessly. “It’s not like you’re going to be eating it for dinner.”

“And I’ll pay you double if you can get that to me in the next half hour,” Kent said to the person on the phone, ignoring Kit’s irritated yowls.

Twenty-eight minutes later, the doorbell rang while Kent was vacuuming the couch and muttering about Kit’s shedding. Three minutes and forty-six seconds later, the doorbell rang again, and Kent looked up with wide, panicked eyes. “Shit! Shit, shit shit.” He finished dumping the foil tin of potatoes onto a nice platter before wiping his hands on a dish towel.

Kit waited for him to leave, but Kent was smarter than she gave him credit for because he kicked her and Junior out of the kitchen. Junior was already two steps ahead of Kent as he ran full speed ahead to the front door, yipping excitedly. Kit begrudgingly followed, only because she wanted to see who Kent had dressed up for.

She was disappointed to find Swoops standing on the other side with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his basketball shorts. “Never mind,” Kit muttered to Junior. “It’s not a date after all.”

“It’s not?” Junior cocked his head and looked up the humans.

“It’s just Swoops,” Kit said as she stalked away with her tail in the air. “And he’s dumber than a box of rocks.”

“Oh, was I supposed to dress up too?” Swoops asked in confusion, taking in Kent’s outfit.

“Uh, no. I just haven’t had time to change yet. I just got back from my…um… accountant,” Kent replied.

Kent made some half-hearted excuse as he dashed back upstairs to change, and left Swoops in the living room with Junior and Kit. Swoops and Kit regarded each other warily. She was considering jumping on him just to rile him up, but he already knew the tricks to avoid her claws. Junior, on the other hand, was currently trying to show Swoops his new toy.

When Kent came back, he was wearing faded jeans and a grey t-shirt that Kit had seen him wear countless times before. “So, uh, food?” he asked.

Kit sat on the island and watched while Kent and Swoops ate. Normally, at this time, she would probably be napping, but the suspense of whether the two of them was going to going to admit their mutual attraction was too riveting to miss. It reminded her of the daytime soap operas she watched with Kent when he’d sprained an ankle and was forced to stay home for weeks while it healed. The only thing missing was the evil twin bursting in, or something to that effect. Maybe, Swoops had a crazy ex-wife that everyone thought was dead.

Swoops certainly looked shifty enough as he stared at the food that was laid out. Finally, part way through dinner, he set his fork down. Junior, who had camped out on the floor, waiting for food to “accidentally” fall, perked up.

“Is everything okay?” Kent asked.

“Uh,” Swoops replied as his gaze flickered between Kent and the bottle of wine. “Parser, is this a date?” he asked. His tone was light and joking, but Kent’s eyes widened.

“Uh,” he said as he started to panic. “I–”

It was Swoops’ turn to freeze, and for a long moment of silence neither of them did anything. “You should have told me,” Swoops finally said, wiping his mouth on the napkin one final time before getting up.

“I didn’t– I mean– wait!” Kent caught up with Swoops before he opened the front door. Kit and Junior followed them. “Jeff,” he said softly. Kit could hear that hitch in his voice which meant her night was probably going to be busy licking and cuddling Kent if this didn’t go well. “It doesn’t have to be. I mean, it’s not. It’s not a date.”

“It is though. I should have realized it sooner,” Swoops sighed. “I’m sorry, Kent.”

This time, Kent didn’t stop him when he left. He stood there for a long time, not even responding when Junior whined sadly and nudged him. Eventually, he moved stiffly in the living room. Junior dropped the remote on Kent who automatically turned it on and stared at it blankly. Kit sat in his lap and cuddled up to him, but it even that wasn’t cheering him up.

“I fucked up,” he said a moment later with no emotion.

“The next time I see him, I’m going to bite him,” Kit promised cheerfully. Kent didn’t reply; it was too bad he didn’t understand her because he would definitely smile at that. “Also, I’m going to claw him.”

The light gradually dimmed until the living room was only lit by the flickering TV and the streetlights outside. Junior and Kit could hear the sound of an engine long before Kent could. Junior was the first to jump off the couch and climb up on the arm chair that Kent had pushed against the window. “Swoops is here?” he barked.

“What?” hissed Kit. “He came back!?”

“He’s back,” Junior confirmed.

She sat up quickly in anger and agitation as she tried to think of a word to properly express how she felt. “Fuck!”

Junior looked back her curiously. “What does that word mean?”

“I have no idea,” Kit admitted. “Kent says it all the time when he mad, or sad, or… excited?”

The doorbell rang, but Kent made no move to answer it. It wasn’t until the banging started that he started push Kit off. “No,” Kit meowed. “Don’t answer it. Stay here with me!” She gave her best approximation of her “cute” face, but it didn’t have the effect she wanted on Kent.

In the front hall, Kit was ready to spring as soon as Kent opened the door. This time, she wouldn’t hold back her claws on Swoops. This was what he deserved for upsetting Kent. However, when the door opened again to reveal Swoops again for the second time that evening, he was wearing a suit. Kit was momentarily thrown, but Junior was already barking angrily up at Swoops.

“Stop,” Kent ordered. He held onto Junior’s collar and rubbed his back until Junior was calm enough to shut up. “What are you doing here?” Kent finally asked.

“I brought you these,” Swoops said, pulling out a bunch of flowers from behind his back. Kent’s jaw dropped, unable to come up with another reaction. “I know they’re not great, but the flower stand on the way here didn’t have a great selection.” After another pause, Swoops thrust them further towards Kent.

“You brought me flowers?” Kent said slowly, accepting the half-wilted blooms.

“Don’t accept them. It’s a trap,” Kit meowed. Everyone ignored her. Even Junior was glancing back and forth between Swoops and Kent.

Swoops scratched the back of neck. “It was a date. I didn’t realize it, but now I do.”

“Yeah, and you left,” Kent snapped.

“I was going to come back,” Swoops said, his brow furrowing. “Didn’t I say that?”

“No!”

“Oh, well, I’m back now,” he said with a sheepish laugh.

“Why?”

“Because it’s still a date,” Swoops said slowly. The _duh_ at the end of the sentence was heavily implied.

“What?”

Swoops stepped closer and hesitantly reached out to touch Kent’s cheek. Neither of them spoke as they drew closer until they were kissing.

“Aw,” Junior gushed.

“Gross,” Kit complained,

She decided this was her cue to give them some privacy. “Let’s go,” she said to Junior. They went around the corner back to the living room. It was far enough away that she didn’t have to suffer through watching them make out, but close enough that she could still hear what was going on.

“Now, go get dressed. I’m taking you out,” Swoops said.

“But, we already ate.”

“Well, then I’m taking you out for dessert.”

“I’ve got a better idea for dessert,” Kent said. There was a slam of the door and heavy footsteps running up the stairs.

“Should we–” Junior started asking.

Kit immediately cut off that thought. “No! We are not going anywhere upstairs tonight.”

“But–”

“Trust me on this, kiddo. You do not want to know how dates end.”


	8. Chapter 8

The door to the bedroom was open just a crack, enough for Kit to peek in and see the lump on the bed where Kent had burritoed himself in his comforter. She nudged the door open and slipped inside, padding quietly on the hardwood floor. She looked back to see if Junior was still hanging back by the door.

“Don’t eat that!” she snapped.

Junior jerked back from the wadded up piece of tissue paper on the floor. “I wasn’t” he mumbled unconvincingly even though his open mouth had been only inches away from it.

“Don’t touch any of it,” she instructed before going back to picking her way around the used kleenex that littered the floor. At the edge of the bed, she settled back on her hind legs before launching off of them into the air and onto the covers. Kent didn’t react even when she got to the head of the bed, pawed at the blanket, and meowed in his face. “I’m hungry!” she cried, even though there was a bowl of dry kibble that Kent always put out. She refused to settle for anything less than the wet food that came from the cans.

“Not now,” Kent wheezed without opening his eyes. His voice was scratchy, and he turned his head to hack violently.

“Kit!” Junior whuffed quietly from the floor. “I want to come up too.” He tried to jump up too, but unsuccessfully crashed into the side of the mattress before landing with a thump. Shaking his head, he took a running leap this time, and this time, got halfway on. His back legs dangled helplessly as he tried to pull himself on the bed. Kit huffed in annoyance before hauling him up by the scruff of his neck.

Junior wagged his tail, and started sniffing up the bed until he got to Kent’s pale face. He licked Kent’s face a couple times which only elicited a wrinkled expression of displeasure and the covers being pulled back over his head. “What’s wrong with Kent?” Junior asked in confusion. “He always wakes up early to feed us.” A set of muffled coughs came from under the blanket.

“I think he’s sick,” Kit said.

“What should we do?” Junior whined before lowering his voice fearfully. “Does he need to go to the… vet?”

“Probably, but I don’t know how to get him to the vet,” she said.

“Me neither.” Then, after a pause, Junior asked, “How do we make him feel better?”

“I don’t know,” Kit admitted. “But, I think I’m going to take a nap first. I think better when I’m not tired.”

“Just sleep?” he said, clearly baffled.

“Why not?” she replied as she settled into a more comfortable position above where Kent’s head was.

“We should do something.”

“Kent’s sleeping right now. We should sleep too.”

“Well… okay,” Junior said skeptically, but he laid down anyways and put his chin patiently on his paws.

A little while later, the sound of the front door opening woke both Kit and Junior and they looked up warily until they realized it was just Swoops. “Hey,” Swoops said gently as Junior thumped his tail sleepily. Swoops sat on the side of the mattress before shooing Kit off the pillow and peeling  back the covers to unearth Kent’s sleep-tousled head. “Kenny,” he said, running his fingers through Kent’s greasy hair, not even caring that he hadn’t showered. “You missed practice. They sent me to make sure you hadn’t died.”

“Mhmm,” Kent replied. His eyes were unfocused as he stared up at Swoops. “Your hands are cold.”

“You’re running a fever,” he said as he moved his hands over Kent’s forehead and cradled his flushed cheeks.

“You should go. Don’t wanna get you sick too,” Kent slurred, but he’d closed his eyes and was leaning into the coolness of Swoops’ hands.

“And leave you to die?”

“Kit and Junior will take care of me,” Kent said.

Swoops snorted before saying, “Maybe.” He laid Kent’s head back onto the pillow. “But right now, Junior needs to be walked and Kit needs to be fed something other than the dry stuff you put out for her.” At the mention of food, Kit perked up, and she changed her mind about being mad about being woken up mid-nap.

After Kit had eaten (the fancy salmon that Kent keeps in the cupboards) and Junior had gotten back from his walk and bathroom break, Swoops bullied Kent into getting out of bed and into the shower.

Kit stayed close and kept a close eye on Swoops when he helped Kent get out of bed. Right now, Kent was at his weakest, and her protective instincts wanted Kent within her sight at all times. She screamed outside the bathroom when she wasn’t allowed in. Junior, taking a cue from Kit, also sat and howled sadly with her until Swoops got so annoyed that he finally opened the door for them. They twined around Kent’s ankles excitedly, not even caring that his legs were still wet from the shower.

Kit took up her seat on Kent’s lap when he was dressed again. Swoops had bundled him up in fresh blankets and deposited him on the living room couch. Kent distractedly gave her a couple of quick pets before Swoops came back with a bowl of canned soup that he’d stuck in the microwave.

He set the bowl down next to the plastic bag full of cold medicine he’d picked up at the pharmacy during Junior’s walk earlier before shaking out two pills to hand to Kent who stared at them dubiously.

“You didn’t get the chewables?” Kent asked.

“You’re not five. Take the pills or I’ll make you swallow them.”

“Maybe, I’ll make you swallow,” Kent muttered under his breath.

“You can do that later when you’re actually feeling better,” Swoops said without missing a beat.

Kent grinned cheekily at him and took the medicine with an exaggerated show of enthusiasm.

After he had eaten his soup, Kent laid back down on the couch to watch the movie that was playing. Swoops had let Kent put his head on his lap, and he was currently playing with Kent’s hair. The medicine was kicking in and had made Kent drowsy, but not so much that it stopped him from making quiet sounds of contentment each time Swoops scratched his scalp.

Kit had snuggled up against Kent’s chest, and Junior had been relegated to the cushion on the floor. She could hear his ragged breathing slow, but it was exponentially better than what it had been this morning. She lifted her head to look over at Swoops who turned his head to peer at her.

“You did good,” Kit said. Even though Swoops didn’t know what she was exactly saying, she had a feeling he understood her perfectly.

“What about me?” Junior asked from beside the couch.

“You too, Kid. You did great.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr at [legojacques ](http://legojacques.tumblr.com)or find the series [ on tumblr.](http://legojacques.tumblr.com/tagged/junior-parson)


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